Week #45 ('21) Singles
Welcome to my Singles post, where I go over all of the loose songs released over the past week so. These are songs that are not currently attached to projects, and may either be promotional singles for an upcoming project or songs dropped at the random whim of the artist. I’ll show you the single, where to find it out in the wild, and a little blurb about it for my thoughts/further context. Click here to see previous Singles posts.
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Chris Skillz & Zain (Feat. Left Lane Didon & Blu) – Sun’s Rays
My man Chris Skillz is back again with Zain, getting ready to drop their newest project on all of us in couple weeks called The Void. As a huge fan of their last album, Olvido, it’s great to hear more of this perfect chemistry again between the thoughtful and positive emcee and a beatmaker that can match that sunny disposition. All three of these dudes are talking about the days of our lives, the good, bad, and heartbreaking. It’s very real and relatable, something Chris has always been able to pull off. Skillz was perfection in front of this killer stroll of a beat, but bringing Left Lane Didon makes the track double-perfection in my eyes; Lefty is one of the best out right now, and I love how he’s flowing over this shit. The *triple*-perfection here is bringing on the one and only Blu to close out the track, literally describing the shit (poo, if you will) a lot of us out there have gone through. Do me a favor and listen to this shit y’all. Shoutout to the whole Delaware crew.
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RJ Payne (Feat. Papoose, Rah Digga, Cory Gunz & Royce da 5’9 – HELLZ FURY
You can just look at the artists attached to this track and get every bit of the epicness you need to know. Huge verses from 5 of the best spitters today, each one giving the last a run for thier money. Rah and RJ are the two wild ones here, so aggressive and hungry that it can be overwhelming, but Pap, Cory and Royce are still giving their best on here. The track is heavily lyrics based, with the beat being a sort of horn-backed metronome for these artists to use as a canvas. RJ drops a lot of material, and I have yet to find a project from him that doesn’t bring the bars, and whatever project this is attached to (if it’s attached to anything at all) will be just as good, that’s a guarantee. If you like rapping, get this in your ears.
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Silk Sonic (Anderson .Paak & Bruno Mars) – Smoke Out The Window
Man this shit is too fuckin’ smooth. I thought the .Paak/Bruno combination (this is the first time I’ve heard the two together, although I know they have a couple other singles out) would be a bit more formulaic or sterile, but what I got was something full of character and throwback. I would compare it much more with something you’d hear from Anderson, like the pimp shit you’d find on NxWorries, than anything I’ve heard from Mr. Mars. The bass groove, excellent drum-kit, the fleeting flute notes, and the warm vocal harmonies all come together like heaven, a feel-good track that has me very excited for how the two can sound on a project of this magnitude. Also, take a look at this music video, crazy vintage vibes on that one. An Evening With Silk Sonic is on the way, so stay frosty.
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CRIMEAPPLE (Feat. RLX & Primo Profit) – Throw The Rice
With his new album Sancocho coming out in a few weeks, CRIMEAPPLE has seen fit to drop his posse cut to get people salivating… and yeah we’re salivating because this shit is fire. With Buck Dudley on the beat for CRIME yet again, we’re getting a sparse and pensive beat with these warbling notes and hands-off drums, a challenge for many emcees to overcome but one that these three handle with style. These three bob and weave around the beat masterfully, with the flow structures becoming more concrete as the song goes along; CRIMEAPPLE is a river of words, RLX has this biting tone to his voice but largely matches the effortless flow, but Primo bludgeons the back end of the track with his sandpaper tone and forceful lyrics. This is some sinister shit, and has me ready for this album.
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Vado (Feat. Lloyd Banks & Dave East) – Respect The Jux (Remix)
I’m not sure exactly what this track is a remix to; there’s a track from like a decade ago Vado did with Jae Millz but it’s not a remix to that for sure. I must have missed something, but it doesn’t matter cause this shit is fire. The beat, new or not, is a captivating vocal loop, brash and in-your-face. Do I even have to say anything about the rapping here? Harlem shows the fuck up for this track, Vado and Dave East rip this beat apart (East especially being hungry as a motherfucker), but Queens wouldn’t let this shit go by without saying something because Lloyd Banks commits lyrical homicide on this track. It’s just New York street shit at it’s best; get on it. I hope to get a Vado album out of this cause Harlem’s gotta step up this year.
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Your Old Droog – Yuri
Droog could spit over anything man. Not that there’s anything too particularly complicated about this shredding electric guitar loop Nicholas Craven provided YOD, but it’s a triumphant and flashy style I haven’t heard him over before. Bars on bars on bars, literally not a moment wasted. I mean come on y’all, go and listen to this shit if you fuck with people saying dope shit over dope beats. It’s looking like we’ll get one more album from Your Old Droog before the year closes (Time was one from the beginning of the year that I ended up listening to recently and it was so fuckin’ good). I’m expecting nothing less than greatness, again.
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Bhad Bhabie – Bi Polar
ALRIGHT. Alright. I can never remember if I’ve talked about this before so I preface every one of my posts about Bhad Bhabie with a warning: y’all don’t have to like this, move on if you’ve got to. She may have writers, producers, and a whole fuckin’ team backing her up but I can’t deny the attitude and the flow. The optics behind her is… admittedly bad, but I can’t help but like most if not all of the music this girl has put out over the past few years. I fuck with this, and I think people that like good flows and sub-bass bangers should give this a listen, cause y’all could find out you fuck with it too.
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NLE Choppa (Feat. Polo G) – Jumpin
It’s sort of funny that NLE has completely dropped that self-medicine stuff that he’s posting about on Instagram when it comes to his music; the kid is really in his lane whenever he’s talking about murdering motherfuckers no matter how much he wants it to be otherwise. NLE has got the flow on this one, especially on the hook with that “dundundundundun” shit (I really don’t know how to type that, if you know you know). It’s a dumb earworm but dammit if it didn’t work. While I wish Polo came with the coldblooded shit, I fuck with his melodic verse anyway because the dude was hard. If you like that mindless trap shit with good flows and melodies, you’ll be straight with this one. We’re looking at a new Choppa album here in December, Me vs. Me, one I’m looking forward to if this single is any indication.
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Young Roddy (Feat. Conway the Machine) – Out The Hood
I’ve heard Roddy on a few tracks here and there with Curren$y (he’s signed to Spitta’s JetLife Records), and I’ve been interested in what he had going on in his career but was never presented with a good starting point… until now. We’ve got this new single that will lead us into his new album, Never Question God, and from what I’m hearing I think this dude has a good head on his shoulders. He’s got a unique voice, high-pitched and sloshy, but on this track he dials back the weirdness to speak on some real shit about the challenges of his neighborhood. Conway matches that energy, killing in spectacular fashion while also spitting facts about the come up he experiences. I’m also hoping the rest of Roddy’s album has similar beats to the one on Out The Hood, with dusty-ass drums and hazy instrumental loops full of emotion. Grimy, confessional, and personal; a great teaser for this upcoming album that all of you should listen to.
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Travis Scott – MAFIA/ESCAPE PLAN
Basically, these tracks are good Travis Scott songs. Travis’ singles have never flown off the page for me right away; I remember how much I didn’t understand Butterfly Effect whenever that came out and now it’s one of my most listened songs. I think MAFIA falls into that category, because I can see how the melodies and slow but plucky keys could work their way into my mind eventually (also that J. Cole shit at the end was a cool twist). ESCAPE PLAN on the other hand it a bit more by the numbers from Travis, but you’d still like it if you fuck with the guy. Normally, I don’t let the outside world fuck with my perception of things, but I’d be lying if recent events didn’t paint the track ESCAPE PLAN in a negative light… just fuckin weird how life works that way. Maybe Travis was planning on an album soon but I think the guys has other shit on his plate right now.
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Snoop Dogg (Feat. Benny the Butcher, Jadakiss, & Busta Rhymes) – Murder Music
Reading up on Snoop’s next album has me understanding what’s going on here a little more: instead of a traditional album, The Algorithm is going to be a compilation album of sorts helmed by the Dogg. From what I understand it’s mainly artists associated with Def Jam’s history, so there’s a large pool of artists he could pull from, and the three he pulled for Murder Music are three of the best for sure. The drums on here boom, the little vocal sample is weird, and all three rappers kill their verses on here (Snoop is only on the hook for this one, no verse from the man). It’s pretty much just straight bars, so give this a listen if you want some murder shit. The Algorithm is a cool idea, and I’m excited to see who else Snoop Dogg pulled in for this one, because the *pedigree* is pretty high.
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Fully & Drakeo the Ruler – I Remember Days
Never heard of this Fully guy before, but I know Drakeo, and I know how much he’s influenced these dudes out there on the L.A. streets. We’ve got prime Drakeo coming with that ghost-cold whisper-flow, telling a fairly interconnected story about chasing after some motherfucker who did him wrong, a skill I rarely see him flex anymore. Fully is largely in the same boat (without the lyrical focus), coming with even more of a whispered flow than the Ruler does, giving this whole track this ice cold menace to it. If you’re looking for quality modern L.A. music with that Oakland feel to it, this is where you’re going this week.
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